Needle



H. l. LIPPARD Feb. 20', 1940.

NEEDLE Filed Jan. 28, 1938 INVENTOR HERMAN LIPPARD ATTORNEY? Patented F e5. 20, 1940.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NEEDLE ,Herman I. Lippard, Winston-Salem, N. C.

, 1, Application January28, 1938, Serial N0..187,336

e 6 Claims.

The present invention relatesto needles and has reference not only tosewing needles but also to needles which are particularly suitable for tagging merchandise; Y

The invention will be described and in its specific aspects will be claimed with particular reference to tagging needles. For not only is this one of the most promising applications of the invention, but it also lends. itself admirably for the specific disclosure of the invention such as is re quired by the patent statutes. Hence, although the invention will be described with considerable detail and particularity and certain specific terms andlanguage will be utilized, it is to be distinctly understood that the present disclosure is illustrative, rather than restrictive, and that no limitations are to be imported which are not required by the language of the claims and the state of the prior art. i

In my prior patent (Reissue Patent No. 16,926

issued April 10, 1928), Ihave described a needle provided with a threading slit at the rear of the eye, the needle to one side of the slit being extended beyond the eye to form a rearwardly examount of pressure is applied thereto either dur ing the threading operation or whilethe needle is being pulled through a thick material ,or seam.

The principal object of my invention is toprovide a needle whichis not as likely to be broken during normalusage as the needle of my prior patent. u A further object is to provide a needle of relatively simple construction which lends itself readily to being manufactured at a relatively small cost on a large commercial scale.

The needle of the present invention is similar to the needle of my prior'patent inthatit isprovided with a threading slit and in that the needle to, one side of the slitextends beyond the eye to form arearwardlyextending prong. It differs from the needle of my prior patent in that the prong terminates at its rear or free end in a protuberance. The protuberance may take any one of a largenumber of different forms. For instance, it may be simply a bent-up or bent-back the head 3 of the needle into two springarms, of

portion of the prong, or it maybe a thickened portion or a hump near or at the very end of the prong.

As has already been indicated, the inventive concept underlying the invention is capable of be ing embodied in various mechanical forms. Two of the many possible embodiments are for the purpose of illustration shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein! l Figure 1 is a side elevation of the needle of the first embodiment when the needle is held in horizontal position;

Figures 2, 3and 4 are fragmentary side elevations on a larger scale, showing the eye or rear 7 end of the needle and also the successive steps in the threading operation; and 1 Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of the needle of the second embodiment.

Referring to the drawing in greater detail andmore particularly to Figure 1 thereof, the numeral I denotes the pointorfront end of the needle, 2 designates the main body portion and 3 designates the rear or eye end of the needle, which may also be termed the head of the needle.

The numeral 4 denotes the eye of the needle and 5 designates the threading slit which is posi- ,tioned at the rear of the eye. A long slit 6 may be provided at the front end of the eye but it is not wholly indispensable. This slit merelyrenders it easier to force the thread or cord through the slit 5 into the eye 4; particularly if the element or cord to be threaded is of considerable thickness.

It is to be noted that the eye 4 and slit 5 divide diflerentlengths, l and 8. The spring arm l terminates a short distancebeyond the slit 5 and is provided with a bevelled endS which slopes downwardly to the slit. The spring arm 8 extends rearwardly beyond the slit to form-la prong I 0 which is bent back toward the eye to form a.

hooked end H. The prong i0 is very much shorter than the corresponding prong in the needle of my prior, patent, thereby greatly reducing the tendency of the prong to break off when it is subjected to pressure during normal use. The length of the prong beyond the slit 5 need not be much greater than the thicknessflof the element or cord to be threaded. It is also to be noted that the thickness of the needle at the hooked end I l is equal to or less than its thickness at the eye of the needle, thereby obviating any tendency of the hook catching in the material as the needle is pulled through. l

The needle illustrated in Figure 5 diners from I the one shownin Figures 1 to 4 inclusive in that the free end of the prong ill instead of being bent back toward the eye of the needle is simply bent up to form the upstanding protuberance l I.

The same result may lee-obtained by soldering or welding on an additional piece of material to the end of a straight prong. It to be noted that the various parts of Figure are designated by primed members corresponding to the numbers used in the other figures.

The needle of this invention'may be made of any of the materials usually employed for the purpose.

The threading operation is illustrated in Fig ures 2, S and i, the letter L denoting the loop or the element or cord to be threaded. The needle is held in one hand near the pointed end, land the loop L is slipped over the head 3 to a. position in front of the eye l (see Figure 2).. The

loop is pulled toward the eye of the needle sothat it slides over the spring arm '5 until it slips down onto the extended portion id of the spring arm 8 and is stopped or caught by the hook It (see Figures 2 and 3). Thenthe loop is pulled toward thepoint of. the needle,-thereby opening the slit 5 sufiiciently to cause the loop to enter the eye of the needle (see Figures 3 and 4) The bevelled edge 5 serves to guide the loop to the slit, but it is For greater clearness of understanding,

thought to be clear thatit is not absolutely essential that the edge be bevelled.

the needle is illustrated as being disposed with its longitudinal axis in a horizontal position and with the shorter spring arm uppermost. it is to be noted, however, that the needle need not be held. in any particular position during the threading operation. Hence, no particular degree of care is necessary in threading the needle, and relatively inexperienced operators and persons of poor eyesight can thread the needle without any undue difficulty.

As has already been indicated, the foregoing disclosure and description are merely illustrative and are not intended to be restrictive of the scope of the invention beyond what is required by the'language of the claims and the state of the prior art, It is to be distinctly understood that the essential thought and concept which characterize my invention may be combined with other concepts and that the details of the illustrative embod-iment 'may be modified in variousways or replaced by other details without. aifecting the peculiar results obtained and without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined'inthe appended claims. As an indication of the possibilities of the invention, it may be stated that the underlying concept may be embodied in both the shedding and non-shedding "types of needles.

I claim: V 1. A needle of the type described, said needle .having 'a main body portion terminating in a point at the front end and in a head atv the rear end, said head being provided with an eye and a threading slit at the rear end of the eye,

said eye and slit serving to longitudinally bifurcate the head end into two spring arms, oneof said spring arms extending to the rear of the other and being provided with a protuberance at its free end.

2. A needle of the type described, said needle having a main body portion terminating in a point at the front end and in a head at the rear 7 end, said head. being provided with an eye and a threading slit atthe rear end of said eye, said eye and slit serving to longitudinally bifurcate the head end into'two spring arms, one of said spring arms extending to the rear of the other and being provided with a protuberance at its free end, the thickness of the needle to the rear of the eye being no greater than the thickness at the eye.

3. A needle of the type described, said needle having a main body portion terminating in a point at'the front end and in a head at the rear end, said headobeing provided with an eye and a threading slit at the rear end of said eye, said eye and slit serving tolongitudinally"bifurcate the head end into two spring arms, one of said spring arms extending 'to the rear of the other and being provided with a.hooked end.

4. A needle of the type described, said needle having a main body portion terminating in a point at the front end and in a head at the rear end, said head being provided with an eye and a threading slit at the rear. end of said eye, said eye and slit serving to longitudinally b-ifurcate the head end into two spring arms, one of said spring arms extending to the rear of the other and being provided with ahocked end, said needle at the hooked end being no greater in thickness than the needle at the eye thereof.

5. A needle of the class described, said needle having a main body portion terminating ina point at the front end and in a head at the rear end, said head being provided with an eye and a threading slit at the rear end of said eye,

said eye and slit serving to longitudinally bifurcate the head end into two spring arms, one of said spring arms extending to the rear of the other and having a surface to guide .a thread to the slit, said spring arm being provided at eye and the slit being positioned substantially on the longitudinal axis of the needle and serving to longitudinally bifurcate the head end into two spring arms, said spring arms: being on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the needle, and one of said spring arms being provided at .its free end with a protuberance, said protuberance extending to the opposite side of the longi tudinal axis of the needle from the spring arm of which it forms a part.

HERMAN I. LIPPARD. 

